Hungarian and Polish farmers are planning new protests on the border with Ukraine

From February 9, Hungarian and Polish farmers are preparing to hold protests on the border with Ukraine. Hungarians are gathering near the city of Zahony to protest against the EU's continuation of preferential trade regime with Ukraine, in particular, regarding grain. Thus, the head of the Association of Hungarian Farmers' Unions, Istvan Jakab, has already stated that they are dissatisfied with the European Commission's plans to extend the suspension of import quotas and duties for Ukrainian exports to the EU, because they will have to compete with products whose production does not have to take into account any EU requirements.

Also, the Minister of Agriculture of Hungary Istvan Nagy said that the proposal of the European Commission to extend the preferential trade regime with Ukraine "does not offer any solutions" to the issue of Ukrainian grain, therefore Hungary plans to maintain the national ban on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine.

And Polish farmers announced a nationwide strike with a blockade of roads and border crossing points. According to the Independent Trade Union of Farmers "Solidarity", the strike should begin on February 9. Earlier, at a meeting of the presidium of the trade union on January 31, its members unanimously decided to announce a general strike of farmers throughout the country, which will begin with the blockade of all border crossing points between Poland and Ukraine, as well as the blocking of roads and highways in certain voivodships on February 9, 2024 at 10.00. The strike with the closure of checkpoints on the border with Ukraine and roads throughout the country is planned to be held for a month until March 10, 2024.

It should be noted that only in the last two months, the Ukrainian economy lost a significant amount due to strikes that blocked the work of checkpoints on the western borders. As the deputy chairman of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council, Denys Marchuk, said, the losses from the border blockade suffered by the country's economy, including commodity producers, amounted to more than 1.5 billion euros in November and December. In addition, Ukrainian entrepreneurs lost their contracts and customers in European countries, because the goods were not delivered on time. According to the expert, in general, as a result of the blockade of checkpoints, the volume of agricultural exports by motor vehicles decreased by 40%. Marchuk emphasized that exporters from the western regions of Ukraine, who usually deliver their products to Europe by land routes, were the most affected by the blocking of the border.